The Mountain in the Sea: Winner of the Locus Best First Novel Award

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The last point is crucial: Nayler tries (and succeeds) to explain the linguistic mechanism of a being that’s alien (to us). Some mysterious characters wear “identity shields”, obscuring their real faces with changing electronic ones, to avoid ubiquitous surveillance. but also a breathless thriller and a perfect example of world building, this is a breakthrough novel which I expect to have a major impact over years to come. I won't say too much more about The Mountain in the Sea, except for, if you're a sci-fi fan, I think you'll enjoy this one, and maybe think about humanity and our world differently. Publication dates are subject to change (although this is an extremely uncommon occurrence overall).

This book probably isn't for everyone, as it's not as plot-driven as space-opera sci-fi as much as food-for-thought, philosophical sci-fi.

Like I said, none of countries we know today still seem to exist, and instead we get tons of random city state “Republics”, high tech paradise Tibet, and the “Chinese-Mongolian winter war”. The plot is gripping, with various groups in fierce competition as humans explore the nature of minds and consciousness and take actions that will be crucial to the future of humans and other life. En la isla se lleva a cabo una investigación secreta, a cargo de la Doctora Ha (bióloga especialista en cefalópodos), Altantsetseg (especialista en sistemas) y Evrim (un androide que es el mayor éxito de la empresa, un hito en tecnología, cuasi humano y cuya creación ha generado mucha polémica a nivel mundial). Nayler, who has written short stories for many years, has a CV that seems fit for one of the first humans living and working in an undersea habitat. The Mountain in the Sea is a novel best meant for fans of VanderMeer for sure and anyone interested in the intersection of marine biology and linguistics.

Meanwhile, there's a parallel plotline about enslaved workers trying to escape from an automated fishing trawler, and another about a computer hacker whose work is so secret that people are murdered for getting close to him. Esto es lo que yo llamo CF Filosófica, muchas reflexiones de fondo sobre que es ser consciente, sobre ecología, sobre contacto interespecies… los pulpos son una excusa para las reflexiones.What struck me about The Mountain in the Sea is how it speaks to the current zeitgeist moment where AI has exploded onto the scene. Of course we would be equally strange to it: a perspectival switch that the novel explicitly plays with. They can change shape, do bizarre things with their skin, and even imitate a shadow running across their skin to startle their prey. Its techno-thriller parts have pacing and suspense issues that would normally decrease my enjoyment.